• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Guinea pig

S

Stormchaser4lyf

New Born Pup
Joined
Aug 29, 2020
Messages
7
Reaction score
1
Points
45
Location
St. Louis park
All my guinea pig is doing is sleeping then she’ll eat but then pass out again she doesn’t wheek at all she isn’t eating the vitamin c hat based tabs she just sits in the corner most of the time
 
Does she have any company? Anything to explore or play with?

Mine don't wheek much. It's not compulsory! My boar will chatter to himself about various things like the weather when he walks down his ramp or what's on the menu when I'm getting their veggies ready. They're always inquisitive when I go to see them, usually in the hope I have some food for them! Mine rest but it's rare to see them actually sleeping.
 
Welcome to the forum.
A vet check is always a good idea with any concerns about a piggy.

Some points though - as @Piggylove82 asked - is she a lone piggy?
Guinea pigs need company for their emotional well-being. They are not wired to live alone.
What stimulation does she have in her cage?
Tunnels, hay bag, seagrass houses etc all make good things to play with.
She doesn’t need extra vitamin C so long as you are giving her a properly balanced diet.
There is a forum guide but I can’t link it for you - I don’t have the tech skills
 
Stormchaser4lyf said:
All my guinea pig is doing is sleeping then she’ll eat but then pass out again she doesn’t wheek at all she isn’t eating the vitamin c hat based tabs she just sits in the corner most of the time
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome!

Guinea pigs are prey animals that live in groups and that not wired to live on their own. Sadly so far Switzerland is still the only country where it is officially against the law to sell and own single guinea pigs although other countries have tightened up their welfare standards.
Companionship

Your little one is feeling very lost and very depressed. As a pet store piggy she has never had anything in the way of friendly interaction with humans. Unfortunately, all those 'cute' videos on social media don't reflect reality and don't prepare you for the real guinea pigs, which are are not living instant cuddly toys. But who wants to see videos of piggies hiding and running away? :(
Can you really replace the 24/7 round the clock companionship for the next 5-7 years of a normal healthy life span? While your life develops and you have other commitment and interests, her need for constant interaction and stimulation is the same, every single day, whether you have the time and interest or not. She cannot simply go anywhere else...
This link here tells you how being sold at a pet shop looks from her side: Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs

Here are tips on how you can make friends with her in her own social interactive language: Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
How to pick her up and carry her safely: How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

The best and most loving gift you can ever make a guinea pig is a same sex companion of her their own kind. Please double check the gender of both piggies before you introduce them on neutral ground outside the cage.
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites

Most piggies don't like artificial vitamin C but with a diet of unlimited good quality hay. Hay should make around 80% of the daily food intake and which is crucial for long health and a long life. What most people don't know is that decent quality green hay actually contains vitamin C. Fresh green growing grass is high in it and the reason why guinea pigs never had the need to make their own in the first place. About 50g of veg and fresh herbs but ideally no or only very little fruit and 1 tablesoon or 1/8 cup (both amount to 15 ml) of pellets provide the rest. If you include veg and herbs high in vitamin C in the daily mix and buy decent quality nuggets (no dry mix), then there is more vitamin C in both food groups so that additional vitamin C is not necessary. Mine have never had any extra vitamin C but they mostly live to a good old age and I have never had issues with scurvy in all those years - nor have other long term forum members.
Here is our very detailed and practical diet guide with a sample veg diet picture: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

Please make sure that she is healthy and eating by weighing your piggy regularly on your kitchen scales; once weekly for a healthy piggy and daily at the same time for a piggy you are worried about.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
 
My boy guinea pig is very lazy sits in a corner and just lays there chilling should I be worried
 

Attachments

  • image.webp
    image.webp
    74.3 KB · Views: 22
Does he have a friend to live with?
how big is his cage?
what enrichment does he have? Of course having a friend is the very best enrichment a piggy can have and without a friend they can very easily become lonely and inactive.

EDIT 1 - ive just seen that you made a previous post roughly covering the same topic but you didn’t answer the questions posted in that thread. The advice given in that thread will be the same as given in this thread, if your piggy is by itself, then please look to get your piggy a friend as it will greatly improve your piggy’s life and happiness

EDIT 2 - ive also noticed that you referred to the piggy as female in your other thread but male in this thread. Is your piggy male or female?
 
Oh the other ones were female one un expectantly died and the other one I gave to the humane Society the males I got from PetSmart there healthy midnight is the one you see he does get unlimited amount of hay and lettuce he just like to be lazy the other one seems fine I Am trying parsley cilantro and sweet potatoes they like it midnight just likes to be lazy I guess and the other one coco everytime I try to pick him up she cries to go back so just looking for some advice
 
That’s not an easy question to answer as there could be a multitude of reasons - incompatible bond/stress/bullying, lack of space and enrichment, health issues. We need a lot more Information before we can suggest what could be the reason

So you have two boars living together?
How long have they been together?
How old are they?
How big is their cage? A boar pair need a lot of space - a cage measuring 180cm x 60cm (6ft x 2ft).
What enrichment do you have in their cage?
Do they have floor time?

Guinea pigs are prey animals and most don’t like being picked up, touched and handled - some learn to tolerate it - so wanting to go back to the cage and not be held is entirely normal
 
I have 2 boars yes and they been together as long as I’ve had them they were in the same cage at pets smart and they are less then a year old and I have 2 Midwest cages connected together I have pellets lettuce parsley sweet potato they do have floor time I have them on my chest on my bed so you suggest I get a even bigger cage the 2 Midwest’s
 
Stormchaser4lyf said:
I have 2 boars yes and they been together as long as I’ve had them they were in the same cage at pets smart and they are less then a year old and I have 2 Midwest cages connected together I have pellets lettuce parsley sweet potato they do have floor time I have them on my chest on my bed so you suggest I get a even bigger cage the 2 Midwest’s
Click to expand...

two Midwest’s together should be enough. I think a midwest is 120 x 60 so together joined together will make enough space.

pellets need to be kept limited - just one tablespoon per piggy per day. if they are overfed pellets, it can contribute to health issues (they contribute a lot of calcium to the diet which can cause bladder stones) and cause weight gain which could possibly make them lazy
sweet potato is fine to give but it’s not an every day food and parsley is high in calcium so should only be given sparingly once per week.

when they have floor time do you put out a lot of hideys and tunnels etc, to encourage them to move about and play?
 
I do not are they ok with being on my floor and I’m a new owner so plz tell me how to un lazy them I guess there pee does tend to be white so I guess guide me to be a good parent
 
Stormchaser4lyf said:
I do not are they ok with being on my floor and I’m a new owner so plz tell me how to un lazy them I guess there pee does tend to be white so I guess guide me to be a good parent
Click to expand...

you can put them in a playpen (ideally to be bigger than their cage to give them more space to play in) or if the room is safe then you can let them have floor time. You will need to protect the floor with absorbent bedding for floor time. Just getting them out of their cage and sitting them on your chest does not allow for any exercise. They need to be provided with enrichment and something fun to do - running through piles of hay, foraging for their veggies amongst hay, having tunnels to play in etc.

white pee can be normal as it is the body’s way of excreting excess calcium. If It feels gritty at all then you need to get them to a vet.
A lot of white pees means you should check their diet. It needs to be mostly hay (hay makea up 80% of the daily food intake). They can then have 50 grams of veg per piggy per day. The majority of that should be leafy veg but it should also contain some high vit c veg such as bell pepper, coriander/cilantro etc. Veg is 15% of the daily food intake. Pellets should be just one tablespoon per day. Pellets make up just 5% of the daily food intake and they should never have constant access to pellets. They are the least healthy part of their diet.

the guides below cover a lot more information than I could possibly put in this post, so do give them a read

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs

New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information
 
One thing I’m curious on is are they aloud to share a food bowl they don’t fight over it there fine eating out of one bowl and when the pellets are gone should I immediately fill it up with one more table spoon and wait
 
Stormchaser4lyf said:
One thing I’m curious on is are they aloud to share a food bowl they don’t fight over it there fine eating out of one bowl and when the pellets are gone should I immediately fill it up with one more table spoon and wait
Click to expand...

They are allowed to share a bowl if they want to but it’s best to have two bowls as they may not always want to share.

I would put either -

one tablespoon each in two separate bowls and put both bowls in at the same time. Once the bowls are empty, remove them
put two tablespoons in one big bowl, but then you’ve got to be prepared for food hogging down the line. Once empty, remove the bowl.
or - and this is my preferred method - scatter two tablespoons of pellets all around the cage and in amongst hay piles on the cage floor and dont use food bowls at all. This way, they forage for their food. It encourages natural behaviour and keeps them occupied and they are moving about. If they sit at a bowl and just eat, then it’s too easy for them and doesn’t give any entertainment
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top